Shades of Gray
by Alenida
Summary: Kitty Pryde didn't want to be a mutant, and when she got a horrible anonymous letter she knew she couldn't take it anymore. So she ran away, without even knowing her power, and then she was found by the Xmen...


Disclaimer: Gee, I don't own X-men. Too bad. Oh well. This is boring. And stupid. Sigh.

A/N: This is the second story in a sort of series that isn't posted as a novel because the main character keeps shifting, and it was written as separate short stories first. The first story is "Reborn", and the third one is "Shattered Image."

**Shades of Gray**

Wind and lightning whipped the trees from side to side. Crashes of thunder could be heard immediately overhead. And through a frightening, wide meadow of long grasses, a young girl was running. Her brown hair was flung back from her white face and drenched in the torrents of rain pouring from the sky. She was crying and biting her lip, trying not to be frightened.

"Oh, why, oh, why did I ever have to leave home?" she sobbed. "It's not my fault they say I'm a mutant! I don't even know what my so-called 'power' is!"

She ran on, faster still, until she could see, in the distance, the outline of an old, red-brick mansion. Her eyes widened at the sight. She plunged onward, hoping desperately they would allow her refuge from the storm. She came to a golden plaque on a gate. It read, 'Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Children'. The girl stared at it with bleary, confused eyes for a moment. Suddenly, she smelled ozone, and saw a brilliant flash of light. A bolt of lightning passed over her shoulder and hit the plaque, exploding in a puff of sparks, while, simultaneously, a clap of thunder reverberated just above the girl's head. The girl screamed, her eyes rolled back in her head, and she fainted.

Jean Grey Summers hurried down the main stairwell. She was worried. That had been some flash, after all. She wouldn't have been surprised if something had been hit.

"Jean?" her husband, Scott, called to her. "Where are you going?"

"Just outside. That was some kaboom back there."

"Are you insane? It's raining cats and dogs out there. What about the baby?"

"The bab—oh." Jean blushed. "I…um…"

"You _forgot _the baby!" he asked incredulously.

"Well, just for a minute. Maybe you'd better go take a look," she said, changing the subject, hurriedly.

"All right, Jean. I'll be back in in a minute." He groped for the umbrella, found it finally, and went out the door, putting it up as he did so.

Scott Summers made his way through pounding rain and driving winds, rather annoyed at having to come out in this weather, but after all, Jean was right. It had been 'some kaboom' out there, and something might have been struck. If something had, it was his duty, he supposed, to find out about it and report back to Professor Xavier. Still, it was with a not-very-good humor that he trudged through gooey mud, sharp winds, pouring rain, and the occasional fork of lightning or reverberating thunderclap. By the time he reached the gates, he was in a foul temper. He looked out and saw that the plaque on the front of the wrought-iron gate had been fried.

"Blast," he muttered, and was about to turn around and trudge back the way he had come, when a low human moan attracted his attention. He ventured a little farther out of the gates and saw before him a crumpled, sopping, dejected specimen of humanity. The young girl's dark hair was spread out under her head, in the mud. She was wrapped in a dirty, yellow plastic raincoat, which had fallen open and exposed her thin form to the mercy of the elements. Her face was mud and rain spattered, and she clutched a dirty scrap of paper in one forlorn little hand.

Scott bent down and picked her up. She was about seventeen, he realized now, though her scrawny body and almost emaciated frame had led him to believe that she was substantially younger than that. He sighed and shook his head as he carried her limp figure into the school.

Kitty Pryde blinked her eyes to clear them. She didn't seem to remember much. Oh, wait, it was beginning to come back…she shuddered as memories flowed in a steady stream into her brain…

… "I regret to inform you, Mr. and Mrs. Pryde, that Katherine Pryde is indeed a mutant."…

… "You must register her, or you will be in violation of the…"

…kids at the school, chanting and yelling, laughing and mocking…

…dirt thrown into her eyes, someone tripping her…

…then that horrible anonymous note…

…her final, desperate flight into goodness-knew-where, and the terrible thunderstorm that accompanied it…

"How did I get here?" Kitty mumbled, almost inaudibly. To her astonishment, a surprisingly educated voice answered, "A man named Scott Summers went out in the wind and the rain and brought you in."

"Oh," Kitty said vaguely, not quite understanding what this man was saying. She looked up and screamed.

Standing above her bed was a big, blue, hairy monster! Kitty shielded her face with her arms and screamed again. A woman with red hair rushed into sickbay, suddenly.

"Hank!" the woman yelled. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing! We don't even know if she's a mutant!"

At the word 'mutant', Kitty started to sob. "I am, I'm sorry, but please, please don't hurt me!" she cringed against the bed. The woman hurried over to her and sat down, gingerly, on the bed. She patted her stomach, which, Kitty now saw, was very large indeed. This woman would probably be coming down to sickbay in another few days as a patient.

"Would you like to touch him?" the woman asked calmly. Her face tearstained, Kitty nodded, though she was still frightened.

"Go ahead, then," the woman said. Timidly, Kitty reached out her hand and put it on the woman's stomach, pulling back with a startled 'oh!' when something kicked, as lightly as a butterfly flapping its wings. The woman smiled. "It's okay, he won't hurt you," she grinned.

Kitty looked up into the woman's brown eyes. "But will _you_ hurt me?" she asked, seriously.

The woman met her eyes, kind and caring. Suddenly, Kitty heard, no, _felt_ words inside her head, _We aren't going to hurt you. I promise._

The strangest thing about it was that Kitty believed her without question. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she nodded.

"Now," said the woman in a more business-like tone. "I think we should get down to particulars. My name is Jean Grey—er, Jean Grey Summers."

The blue beast behind her snorted with laughter and murmured, "You've been married almost ten months, and you _still_ can't remember that?"

"Oh, shut up, Beast!" Miss Grey—Mrs. Summers snapped, embarrassed. She turned her attention back to Kitty. "Who are you?" she asked.

"My name's…um…" Kitty thought quickly. "Jenna Smith?" the question in her voice was so tangible she could have kicked herself.

Mrs. Summers sighed. "I'm a telepath, as you may already have realized," she said. "Now, I'm not reading your mind right now, and I don't intend to without your permission, but I _can_ tell when you're lying."

Kitty flushed, and her eyes dropped to the ground. "Sorry," she mumbled. "It's just that…if I hadn't told those stupid registration people my real name, I wouldn't be here now."

Mrs. Summers suddenly became very alert. "What registration people?"

Kitty looked at her in puzzlement. "The people who are registering mutants, of course. Aren't you a mutant? Don't you know?"

Mrs. Summers nodded slowly, "Yes, I'm a mutant. So is he, actually," she jerked her thumb at the big, blue Beast standing behind her. "Of course, he _shouldn't be showing that to patients without making sure that they are mutants, TOO!_" she said forcefully, shooting a glare at the beast. "But I haven't heard of any registration people."

"You haven't?" Kitty was surprised. "I thought everybody would have heard of them. They say that they broadcast on all the networks—except my parents don't get their channels, they said."

"Mm-hm." Mrs. Summers' lips pursed in thought. "Hank," she said to the beast. "I think we'd better have a talk with Professor X, et al."

"You know, Jean, I think perhaps that you are correct."

"Kitty, don't be frightened. We aren't going to hurt you. We just want to ask you a few questions," said the serious, balding man in the wheelchair, whom Mrs. (No, Dr., Kitty had learned that the woman had a medical degree)—Dr. Summers had introduced as Professor Xavier, the leader of the 'X-men', and the principal of this academy.

Kitty nodded, still nervous.

"When you were talking to Jean, you said something about 'registration people'. Who are these so-called 'registration people'?"

Kitty took a deep breath, and thought carefully before she answered, "Um…they're a group of men and women who believe that the answer to the 'mutant problem' is registering all mutants. They—they have the support of the government of the United States," she recited.

"I've heard that same sentiment—that of registering mutants being the solution—echoed many times over, but I don't believe that the government has formally given license to a group to begin to register the mutants."

"B-but they said…" Kitty took a deep breath, attempting to sound as old as her seventeen years. "They said that they had government support and funding, and that they had for the last five years."

"Professor!" a tall girl of twenty or so, with brown hair streaked with white, and a broad Southern accent, interjected, "I hardly like to intrude, but it sounds t'me like we're dealin' with a scam here."

"While I do not necessarily agree with your usage of colloquialisms, I believe you are correct. I believe that Kitty and her parents were indeed victims of such a—" he sighed and made a slight grimace, " quote-on-quote, 'scam'."

"You mean we were tricked," Kitty said, in growing horror. "But why would someone do that?"

The Professor sighed again and leaned back in his chair. "I can only conjecture, Kitty. It is possible that this is a private organization which merely pretends it has government funding to allow it more access to the mutant community, or it could be that these people are trying to find one specific mutant, or one specific _group of mutants_."

Dr. Summers' eyes widened in alarm. "You mean the X-men, don't you, Professor?"

The Professor nodded, concern evident on his face. "I do indeed, Jean. The people conducting the tests may even be mutants themselves. For all we know, they could be what is left of Magneto's Brotherhood."

Kitty looked mildly puzzled at the reference, but nearly everyone else in the room reacted with horrified suspicion.

"Who are Magneto's Brotherhood?" Kitty asked curiously. _Guess I'm living up to my name_, she mused. _Mom always did call me 'Curious Kitty'_.

"They are a band of the mutants, formed under the guidance of one Eric Lensher, or 'Magneto', who believe that a war is brewing between mutants and the rest of humanity. Eric and I do not see head to head on these matters."

Kitty smiled at Xavier's use of understatement. "So, they're the bad guys and you're the good guys, is that it?"

Various voices chimed in at once, "You got it, kid!" came from 'Rogue', "Um…could we put it a little less crudely?" from Dr. Summers' husband, Scott, and "To an extent, Kitty, but remember that evil and good are not measure in black and white, but in shades of gray," from Professor Xavier.

"Uh-huh," Kitty was slightly perplexed by the metaphor, but tried not to show it.

Dr. Summers leaned over and lightly touched her hand. "Don't worry, Kitty, the rest of us have been trying to work out what he's saying for years. He likes to be obscure and mysterious," she murmured, and Kitty tried to suppress a giggle. Professor Xavier shot Jean a dark look. "I did hear that, Jean," he said. "My ears aren't as bad as you seem to think, you know."

Jean smiled at him. "Sorry, Professor."

"Now," Xavier continued, looking out at the circle of faces around the table, "I suggest we adjourn this meeting for now and see what we can do about tracing these so-called 'registration people'."

Kitty blushed at hearing her own words repeated by the Professor, and she put her face in her hands in embarrassment. Everyone else round the table was suddenly all business. "Sure thing, Professor." "Yup." "Good idea." "You got it, sugar." "We'll be on it."

"All right. This meeting is now adjourned. You may go."

All around the table, men and women stood up and stretched with relief. Kitty headed quickly for the door, almost running. She cannoned into a large, stocky man who was also moving with lightning speed toward the exit.

"Watch where you're goin', half-pint," the man growled, glaring down at Kitty. He had flashing, dark eyes, and stubble covering his chin, as though he'd forgotten to shave. As Kitty stared at him, twin sets of claws _snicked_ neatly out of the back of his hands. Kitty gave a frightened squeak and jumped backward.

"Logan!" Dr. Summers called, hurrying forward. "Please at least _try_ not to frighten our new guest!"

"Sorry, Jean," 'Logan' grunted. He walked out of the room, leaving Kitty staring after him, her heart racing.

"You must excuse Logan," Jean said to Kitty. "He has amnesia, and in consequence, seems to have forgotten his manners."

"Yeah, he ain't very polite, that's for sure," chimed in Rogue.

Kitty smiled weakly, though her heart was still pounding. The two women and one girl turned and walked out the door together.

"Okay, Kitty, this isn't going to hurt. Normally, Professor X would do it, but he's a little busy right now. I'm just going to read your mind to see if I can find any clues as to what your power is, all right?"

Kitty nodded, licking dry lips. "Uh-huh. Sure. No biggie."

Jean smiled at her. "I promise it won't hurt a bit."

The smile vanished from her face as she took on a look of deep concentration and brought her hands up to the air by the sides of Kitty's face. Kitty swallowed and willed herself not to react. There was a brief, stomach-turning sensation, like riding in an elevator, and then Kitty's mind was a jumble of disordered thoughts, dislocated memories, and disjointed images.

…home, a pleasant house, yellow and cozy looking…Jed, that boy in sixth grade who was Kitty's first crush…skipping rope in the playground during recess with her best friend, Joanna…her same best friend completely ignoring her when they got into middle school…Kitty's tears over the complicated and meaningless homework assignments and gibberish…then, a scene, frighteningly clear, flashed to the surface of Kitty's bewildered brain:

She was standing in the middle of the high school car park, preparatory to walking home. Suddenly, there was a car coming right at her. Kitty screamed and tried to jump out of the way as the car swerved. She could see the left bumper heading straight for her chest; it was going to crush her lungs and her ribs; she was going to die…her eyes squeezed shut, anticipating the impact, but miraculously, nothing happened. Shaking almost too much to stand, Kitty looked up. The car was a few yards of to her right.

"It missed me, thank goodness, it missed me," she muttered to herself, her heart still in her throat. One of the car's windows came down, and a raucous boy's voice shouted, "Stinkin' mutie! Go back where you came from, will ya?"

"I…I'm not a mutant," Kitty replied, but in so low a voice it was doubtful if the occupants of the car heard her. There was a rumbling noise as the car started up, and it whizzed out of the parking lot at top speed. Only then did Kitty look down at her feet. She was standing directly in the tire-mark the car had made when it skidded. Shaking her head in disbelief, she rubbed her eyes. "I must have moved," she muttered to herself, before turning to continue her journey homewards…

…Kitty suddenly felt a frightening jolt in her mind, and she tried to pull away. A second later she was staring at Jean's face, the latter having gone quite pale. "Oh," Jean said, looking surprised, as she put her hand on her stomach. Then she turned to Kitty. "I'm sorry, Kitty, but I'm going to have to leave you for awhile. Would you run and tell Scott I'm going to be in sickbay for the next eight or ten hours?"

Kitty's eyes popped wide open. "You mean…" she stared at Jean's stomach.

"Well…uh…yes," Jean said apologetically. "I really didn't mean to leave you this suddenly, but it seems I have to."

"I'll get Scott," Kitty said hurriedly. "You're sure you can get to sickbay on your own?"

"Hmmm? Oh, yes. It's just next door, but thanks anyway, Kitty."

Jean got up, moving slowly and carefully out the door. As soon as she had disappeared, Kitty raced heedlessly for the exit, shouting for Scott.

She found Mr. Summers in the dining room, fixing himself a sandwich. He looked up in surprise when Kitty rushed in, hair flying every which way, eyes wide, cheeks flushed.

"Kitty, slow down. What on earth is it?" Scott asked, still holding the sandwich in his hands.

"I…I…it's Jean."

"Jean? What's wrong with Jean?"

"She's…she's…" Kitty gasped, trying to articulate.

The man called Logan appeared in the other doorway. "Hmmm," he said, leaning with folded arms. "Judging from the Half-pint's haste, I'd venture to suggest that Mrs.-Dr. Summers is down in sickbay right now."

Scott's mouth dropped open and the uneaten sandwich fell to the dining room floor. "You mean…?"

Kitty had barely nodded an affirmative before Scott was out of the room and halfway down the hall. Kitty looked after him in astonishment.

"I can't stay either, Half-pint," Logan said, his easy stance belied by the anxious expression on his face. "Gotta go see if Jean needs any help."

He turned and ran quickly off. Kitty shook her head as if to clear it.

"Um…" she said out loud. "I guess…I guess I'll go to bed, then."

_It's kind of like Goldilocks and the Three Bears,_ Kitty mused. _I don't have a room, so I just pick one and lie down in the bed. Hopefully this isn't Logan's room_. She glanced around the room once and decided that that was highly unlikely. The room was painted a pastel green, and a brush, comb, and pair of gloves lay on the bedside table. _Nah. Logan wouldn't be caught dead in gloves, specially not _those_ gloves_. The gloves were long, slim and white. Kitty thought that they possessed a kind of archaic, otherworldly elegance which seemed oddly out of place in this confusing mansion of whirring machinery and whooshing doors.

She shrugged. She was tired, and this wasn't a good time to day-dream. She didn't have any nightclothes. Oh, well. Kitty lay down on the bed, pulled the comforter over her head, and sank into a deep sleep disturbed by confusing dreams.

_She was in the car park again, only this time the car coming at her was far bigger. There was no possible way of avoiding it, but still she tried. She began to run to the left, but when she glanced over her shoulder, she saw that the car was still there, lazily cruising along like a jaguar hunting its prey in the jungle. "Leave me alone!" she screamed, zigzagging crazily in the hopes of confusing it. A distant shout of "Stinking mutie!" was the only reply._

_Kitty could feel her breath tearing through her throat, but try as she might, she could not escape the deadly vehicle. Finally, as it was bearing down on her, she tripped, falling with a cry toward the hard cement ground. Her hands sank through the ground and disappeared, and the rest of her body followed a moment later._

There was a feeling of rushing wind, of falling, but it lasted only a moment. Then Kitty crashed into a hard, plastic floor.

"Ooh," she moaned, feeling her ribs. They were bruised, but she didn't think she'd broken anything. She sat up, blinking her eyes dazedly. She was in a square, white room. Everything in it appeared to made of plastic. In fact, everything was white, except for the dark figure of a man in black leather near the other end of the room.

"Wh-where am I?" Kitty stuttered, confused and frightened.

"Ah!" the man exclaimed, his hidden eyes scrutinizing her, "My dear, I called you here."

Kitty turned a puzzled look on him. "You did?" Something about his statement hadn't rung quite true.

"Yes, I did. My name is Eric. I was accidentally trapped inside here one day, and I don't seem to be able to get out."

Kitty still gazed at him with slight suspicion. "Uh-huh. And what do you want me to do about it?"

"Judging from your entrance, I would say you could phase me through a wall."

"I—I could what?" Kitty asked, astonished.

"Well, you fell right through the ceiling, you know."

"I-I did?"

Realization struck Kitty like a blow in the face. _That's why I wasn't killed when that car almost struck me—it _did_ strike me, but I phased through it._

Eric was waiting patiently. "Um…I guess if you want to get out…I could try to touch you and phase us both through the wall," Kitty said tentatively.

"That would be very kind of you," the man replied. Kitty didn't particularly like the condescending way in which he spoke, but she took his hand all the same, walked over to the wall and willed herself, _Go through, go through, go through_. She shut her eyes and started to walk forward.

"Bravo!" the man said suddenly. Kitty opened her eyes, and, with a jolt, realized she was on the other side of the wall.

"I did it!" she cried, turning to Eric with a face full of joy. He, too, had a smile on his face, but Kitty didn't like the look of it. She started to back away, frightened, but he flung out his arm in a dramatic gesture. A piece of metal Kitty hadn't even known was in the room hit her unprepared and unphased temple at full force, and she blacked out.

When Kitty woke, she was in sickbay. She blinked bleary eyes to clear them and found she was staring up at Beast's furry face.

"She's awake," he announced. "No, don't get up," he admonished Kitty as she tried to do just that. Kitty blinked at him in acknowledgement. Suddenly, Professor Xavier's voice was in her head. _Kitty. What happened? You don't need to talk, just think back at me._

_Um…well_, Kitty replied. _I went to sleep in somebody's room…_

_Whose room?_ the Professor questioned sharply.

_I…I don't know for sure. It was green, and there were gloves on the bedside table._

"Rogue's room," the Professor reported to Beast. His voice sounded very grim. Then he spoke to Kitty once again, _So you fell asleep in Rogue's room. Then what happened?_

_I had a nightmare, and when I woke up—_

_Describe the nightmare,_ Professor Xavier interjected.

_I dreamed about being nearly run over by a car, but I ran away, and then I tripped and fell through the pavement._

_You're sure of that!_ Professor Xavier's voice was sharp and harsh.

Kitty felt a little frightened as she answered, _Positive, Professor._

_All right, go on. And don't be frightened. I'm sorry I'm being sharp, Kitty, but this is of the utmost importance._

_Then I fell onto the floor and woke up—only I wasn't in the bedroom anymore. I was in a big room of white plastic._

She felt, rather than saw, the expression of grim despair that flitted over the Professor's features. His reply was noncommittal, _I see. Then?_

_There was a man in the room. He told me he'd called me._

_A lie,_ the Professor said simply. _But there was no way you could have known that._

_Then he told me what my mutant power was and asked me to use it to help him escape. He said his name was Eric and that he'd been trapped by accident. So I helped him, and then something hit me on the head, and I woke up here. That's all I know, Professor._

The Professor nodded sadly. _I'm sure it is, Kitty. However, the man whom you freed was none other than the infamous Magneto, the leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants._

_Oh, God!_ Kitty cried in dismay. _I didn't know, Professor. I'm _sooo_ sorry._

_I know you didn't know, Kitty. But now that Magneto has escaped, we will have to use all our intelligence and resources to discover his whereabouts before he wreaks havoc once again._

To be continued…_the sequel is Shattered Image_


End file.
